The Price
by chocolatelova
Summary: Is what you gain always worth the price you pay? [Post series fic. No movie spoilers.]
1. The Sacrifice

**The Sacrifice**

June 23rd, 1921  
Munich, Germany

The Philosopher's Stone. Those who possess it, no longer bound by the Law of Conservation in alchemy, don't have to sacrifice something of equal value in order to gain something. We sought after it, and finally obtained it.

Even so, there was a price to pay. If we learned nothing else from this journey, it is that no one can gain something for nothing. People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something. You must present something of equal value to gain something in return. That is the principle of equivalent exchange in alchemy. We believed that was the truth of the world back then, Al and I.

That was what we believed. But Dante said that there was no such thing as the Law of Conservation. Our father…Hohenheim…also said the same thing. And now that I have been through the Gate and back, and through once more, I am beginning to understand. Neither alchemy nor the world follows the Law of Conservation. But to gain something, to change something, sacrifices must still be made. The difference is that what you gain is not always equal in value to what you sacrifice. Sometimes you gain more than you expect or deserve. Other times, the price is so high that you wonder if you've really gained anything at all.

I have been having dreams. Every one of them starts out the same way: I stand in front of the Gate as the doors are just about to shut. Each time, I try to catch them before they close, and each time, I fail. I am left trying to pry them open, like Envy did right before Al transmuted my body, but they don't open as easily for me as they did for Father's homunculus. Desperate, I clap my hands together to form a transmutation circle with my own body and then place them flat against the cast-iron doors, ready to blow the Gate apart, ready to do whatever it takes to get back to Al. But instead of feeling the reaction begin to take place in the cold metal, I begin to sink into the doors. My hands are swallowed up first, then my arms, then the rest of me, until I have become part of the Gate itself.

Then I see Al. He is as innocent and baby-faced as he was four years ago, before any of this happened. But the people around him—Winry, Sensei, and even Rose—look no different from when I last saw them, except for an air of unspoken sorrow that had not been there before. I try to speak, reach out, but it's as if no one can hear me or see me. There are times, though, when I think Al knows I'm there, watching him from the mirror, from a puddle in the ground after the rain, or from the surface of the lake where we used to fish when we were young.

"Nii-san," he would say, his large gray eyes lighting up with recognition and hope.

"Al," I say, and reach my hand out to him, the one I lost in order to bring him back. He stares at my automail arm like he has never seen it before, and then his face fades from view, and I find myself back in the bedroom in my father's house in Germany.

If those dreams are real…is the Gate letting me have glimpses of my world? By becoming part of the Gate, if only in a dream, am I able to see things I would otherwise not be able to see? Even Father, the great Hohenheim of Light, did not know the answer to that question.

But I believe it is so. In those dreams, Al does not seem to remember anything that happened after we transmuted our mother. His face is not lined with the scars and worry of the past few years, like mine is. Everyone around him is careful not to say much about me to him, and I wonder if they've told him anything at all. It is how Father said it would be: when I bound Al's body and soul together, the sacrifice was the memory of the four years we spent together that brought us closer than we have ever been before. The tears we shed, the hardships we endured together with the military, the homunculi, and finally, Dante—it's as if none of it had ever happened. Maybe it's better this way, with me, rather than him, shouldering the burden of remembering. The older brother protecting the younger—that's how it should be.

What am I saying? This isn't how it should be. Scar wasn't supposed to succeed in sacrificing hundreds of lives to make the Philosopher's Stone. Al wasn't supposed to be the Philosopher's Stone. We were supposed to get our bodies back, but we weren't supposed to be separated like this. The reason we kept on struggling to survive was for each other, so what's the point of being alive if we can only live on apart? What's the point, if I am nothing more than the ghost of a memory to him? I don't care if I never get my arm and leg back, so long as I can be with Al again. We have paid a heavy price for our sin...and still do, even now. Everything has its price, but it seems that sometimes you can never pay enough.

...Will it ever be enough?


	2. Interlude

**Interlude**

_Nii-san…it was too hard for you to do it alone. If only I hadn't chased after Scar and the Crimson Alchemist, back in Lior… If only I hadn't trusted Tucker when he called, his voice filled with desperation and hope… If only I hadn't been so easily taken in by the deceptions of the Homunculi …_

…_maybe you would still be alive._

_This journey was supposed to be about the two of us. You shouldn't have been the one carrying the burden. I wanted to get you back to normal, too. But after I was transmuted into the Philosopher's Stone, I became helpless…and I hated that. I could only watch you get injured and wear your body down as you tried to protect me, a suit of armor, who feels no pain and does not tire. A suit of armor, whose metal is far tougher than flesh and blood. Nii-san, your own burden was heavy enough, yet you had to carry mine as well…_

_It was too much for one person alone. But now, let me be the one to save you, even if it means offering up all of myself._

…_I'm sorry, Nii-san. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this._

_You might be mad at me for sacrificing myself so you would live…like the way I got mad at you in East City, when you almost let Scar kill you so I could live. _

_But I can't just watch you die and not do anything about it. That's why…that's why I must use the Philosopher's Stone._

_Your face, Nii-san, it's still warm. Your soul…it's close by, I can feel it…you haven't left. Not yet._

_This is why the Philosopher's Stone was created. _

_Come back…Edward, Nii-san…_

…_come back._


	3. Reverberations

**Reverberations**

"Al! _AL!_"

Edward Elric bolted upright in bed and clutched the blankets with his good hand, his heart pounding in his throat. The back of his neck was damp with sweat. _Was that...? _

"Al?" he whispered. Something dripped onto the cold steel of his bare automail forearm. Another drop landed by his left hand, which still held a clump of blanket, and made a dark spot on the coarse wool. He lifted his good hand to his face, and felt moisture on his cheeks. His fingers glistened in the silvery light of the moon creeping into his room between closed shutters.

"Why am I crying?"

_He opened his eyes, blinking against the light of a hundred candles. Rose's face, looking concerned, filled his view. "Ed…are you alive?"_

"_Yeah." His chest no longer hurt. That was good, because Envy had injured him pretty badly, there. What was Rose doing here? Was she sent beyond the Gate, too? _

_She still looked at him with that worried frown, so he smiled to reassure her. Her face blurred a little, and something warm flowed across his face. He lifted his hand to wipe his eyes._

"_Why am I crying?"_

This time, the tears belonged to someone else. He touched his chest where his mortal wound had been. "Don't be sorry, Al."

There was the sound of footsteps outside his door, running. The latch lifted noisily, and his father burst into the room. "Edward, what happened? Are you all right? I heard you yelling."

Ed quickly scrubbed the tears from his face with the back of his hand. "Ah, it was just a dream, that's all," he said, with a small laugh. "Nothing to worry about."

His father stood looking down at him, his expression inscrutable behind rectangular glasses that reflected the light from a streetlamp stationed near the bedroom window. "You know I worry about you," he said quietly.

Staring at the ridges and wrinkles he had made in the blanket, Ed replied, "You don't have to. I'll be fine."

"Edward…you're my son. I'm supposed to worry about you."

Ed gazed up at his father—this proud man who, in his faded memories, had always been cold and distant—and saw, finally, what he had been longing to see for the last fifteen years of his life. Though in a different situation, in a different life, he would have never admitted it, not even to himself. He also smelled the heavy scent of thyme and primrose that his father wore, the scent that used to make him think of the emptiness of his father's study and the emptiness in his mother's eyes. "I worry about you, too, you know."

The corners of his father's eyes creased as his mouth turned up in a slight, but kind, smile. "No, that's _my_ job. Now get some rest."

Pulling the covers over himself, Ed turned to face his father. "Good night, Father."

Hohenheim Elric nodded at his son. "Good night, Edward." As he left the room, some papers scattered on the floor caught his eye. Several pages of Goddard's "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes." A scribbled address belonging to someone named Oberth. A one-way train ticket.


	4. Anna

**Anna**

The German countryside was awash in the flaming rays of the sun as it slowly sank below the horizon. Fields and pastures stretched for miles, interrupted only by a railroad that snaked through the land like a thin ribbon of metal and wood. A locomotive trundled along the tracks, drawing behind it a train of cars destined for Eastern Europe.

In one of the compartments, a girl with long, mahogany hair sat across from an older boy who was slumped in his seat, watching the countryside pass by with a mixture of boredom and disinterest. The girl wore a simple, dark grey dress well-suited for traveling. On her head was perched a wide-brimmed hat adorned with a green ribbon. It was evident that she did not come from a background where material possessions were found wanting, as her white gloves that came up to the elbow were made of fine leather. She picked at her plate of leftovers with a fork and suppressed a yawn; it was getting late in the day, and perhaps she had eaten too much for dinner. Her brother certainly had, or he wouldn't be looking this sluggish. She speared a lone pea, then another, and another, until several of them were neatly lined up on the fork. Holding up her food sculpture, she peered between the tines at a blond-haired boy sitting by himself in the corner of the car.

"Are you staring at him again, Anna?"

Anna jumped and immediately lowered her fork. To hide her embarrassment, she flipped the utensil around and proceeded to slide off one pea at a time with her teeth. "No…I was just admiring my masterpiece," she said tartly.

"Which one are you calling a masterpiece? The one you're eating, or the blond kid over there?" Her brother smirked and shifted into a more comfortable—but equally slouched—position. His poor posture made his coat ride up over his shoulders, revealing a green silk vest with a loop of delicate gold chain hanging out of the front pocket. The picture of indolence, as far as Anna was concerned, especially with the way he let the long bangs of his dark hair fall over half his face.

"Julius!" She exclaimed, and bit down hard on the fork by accident. "Ouch! Now look what you made me do!"

"Now, now, don't get so excited." Julius stretched languorously and put both hands behind his head. "What's so special about him, anyway?" he said through a yawn.

Anna looked back at the boy, who sat with both hands resting on the table in front of him. He was gazing at an invisible point beyond his fingertips with a faraway look in his eyes. "It's just…I don't think he's used to being alone. Like he's waiting for somebody to join him."

Julius twisted around to get a better look. "I dunno, he just looks kind of depressed to me." Then he noticed that the boy's feet just reached the floor. "Hey, he's kind of shrimpy, don't you think?"

Scowling at her brother, Anna put down the fork and rose from her seat.

Julius watched her, puzzled. "Eh? Where are you going?"

Ignoring the question, Anna approached the table where the blond boy sat all by himself. Most of his long pale hair was tied back into a low ponytail, and the rest fell loosely around his face. He wore a grey coat over a shirt with a ruffled collar that came up high on his neck, and his traveling gloves were white like hers. His appearance was pedestrian enough, except for his eyes, which were the color of her brother's gold chain watch and looked as though they had seen more than anyone should have seen in a lifetime.

It took a moment or two, but he lifted his head when he noticed her standing there. His yellow irises matched the dimming sunlight that flickered into the car as the train passed a copse of trees.

"Hello," she said, smiling at him. She heard Julius come up behind her. "Since we're traveling together, I thought I'd come by and introduce myself. I'm Anna Reinhardt." She gestured at her brother. "And this is—"

The boy's eyes widened as if her brother had sprouted another head. "_Russell?_" he gasped.

Julius scratched his head, looking perplexed. "Uh, no, I'm Julius. I'm Anna's older brother."

His eyes remained on Julius a moment longer, and then he visibly relaxed. "I see. You just look like…someone I know." A shadow seemed to fall across his face, and his eyes once again held that contemplative expression Anna had seen earlier.

"And what's your name?" she prompted gently.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. It looks like I've completely forgotten my manners," he said, and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "My name's Edward. Edward Elric."


	5. The Reinhardts

**Author's note:** For those who don't know, Transylvania is a province within Romania, a country in Europe. Many thanks to The 80's Lover, Barbara Akers, Monk of the Neko, and Raiyne Nagakura for their reviews! It's always good to know that someone is actually reading this thing ;)

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**The Reinhardts**

"Nice to meet you, Edward Elric," Anna said. She leaned forward and offered her hand, but Edward did not offer his in return.

"I would shake your hand, but I injured mine a long time ago." He lifted his right arm to demonstrate, and his hand dangled limply at the wrist. "Sorry."

"Oh no, that's terrible! Don't be sorry. Anyway, is it all right if we join you?"

Edward seemed surprised at the request, but nodded. Anna sat down across from him, and thought she saw her brother roll his eyes at her. "Stupid boy-crazy sister," he muttered under his breath—just loud enough for her to hear—as he took his place next to her. Anna wrinkled her nose at Julius and elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey, what was that for?" he complained, rubbing his side.

Anna folded her hands together on the table and flashed her most winning smile at Edward. "As you can see, Edward, we've spent so many hours on the train together, we're starting to drive each other crazy."

"Don't let her fool you with that smile," Julius said warningly. He plunked his elbow on the table and propped his head up against his hand. "She's not the one being driven crazy."

"So we thought we'd go around and meet the other passengers," she continued, as if there had been no interruption. "And since there's hardly anyone else around who's our age, we thought we would keep you company." Then she added, rather belatedly, "If you don't mind, that is."

"No, I don't mind," Edward replied, and he appeared mildly amused. "It's kind of nice to have someone to talk to."

_I was right, after all, _Anna thought. _He's not used to traveling alone._

Julius tapped his cheek with his forefinger as he curiously eyed the other boy's crippled hand. "So…what did you do to your hand?" he asked.

There was an awkward silence as Edward looked down at his gloved hand without responding. Anna rounded on her brother. "Julius! Don't be insensitive!" she scolded.

"Oh, sorry," Julius said, apologetically raking his bangs out of his face, only to have them fall right back in place. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's all right," Edward said, and slid his right arm under the table, as though trying to hide it from view. Anna heard the soft click of metal moving on metal, like the sound made by the wind-up mechanical dolls she played with when she was a young girl. "It's a long story, and you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Julius looked as though he wanted to pursue this line of conversation, but backed down after Anna shot him a warning glance. "Where are you from, Edward?" his sister asked, changing the subject.

"I'm from a place called Rizenbul. It's a really small country town, so you might not have heard of it."

"Oh, I see. Is that in Germany?"

There was an almost imperceptible pause before Edward replied. "Yeah."

_Something terrible must have happened there during the war_, she thought, and decided it was time to change the subject again. "We're from Germany too, me and Julius," she said brightly. "But we moved to Transylvania a few years ago. Father used to be a professor at the University of Munich, but after the war ended, the economy was so bad that we had to leave. Our mother's originally from Romania, and since it was one of the Allies during the Great World War, we had a place to go to."

"Besides, Mother's descended from a long line of counts and countesses in Transylvania when it was still its own kingdom, so we're pretty rich," Julius added proudly. "And since she's royalty, that makes us royalty, too."

Sighing, Anna dismissively waved a hand at her brother. "Don't mind him, he always gets like this whenever the subject of Mother's ancestry comes up. Which, according to him, is all the time."

"Come on, sis. Don't be ashamed of your heritage!"

"Whatever, you big-headed dolt. I doubt Edward's very interested in hearing about it."

"All right, be that way," Julius said sulkily, and then turned his attention again to the blond boy. "Anyway, where are you traveling to?"

"Oh, I'm going to Hermannstadt, in Transylvania. I think the Romanians call it Sibiu, though."

"Hey, that's the city where we live!" Anna interjected enthusiastically. "And we're German, like you, so we call it Hermannstadt all the time. So what brings you all the way to Hermannstadt?"

"I'm looking for someone named Hermann Oberth. He's a physics student at the University of Munich, but he's visiting home for the summer."

"'Looking for'? You mean you've never actually met this guy?" Julius asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. I heard about him when I was in Munich, so I decided to look him up."

"What's so urgent that you have to come all this way to see him? Can't you just wait until he gets back to school?"

"He's researching how to fly into space, and I wanted to—" Edward began to say, but broke off when Julius whooped with laughter.

"You want to…fly…into space?" Julius was laughing so hard, it was a wonder he was able to speak at all. "That's…that's crazy talk… Flying into…outer space…"

It was times like these that made Anna wonder what kept her from throttling her brother. This Edward boy may be a bit strange, but he sounded so earnest and looked so mortified that her heart went out to him. Besides, she didn't come over here to make him feel bad. So she settled for slapping her brother on the side of the head.

"Ouch! Jeez, Anna, what's your problem?"

"Space flight is an entirely realistic possibility," she said primly. "People thirty years ago would have laughed at _us_ if we told them that humans could fly."

Julius gaped at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. "What the—? Tch, like you know what you're talking about."

"More than you, brother. At least _I'm _a scientist," she said, and sat up straighter, haughtily turning her nose up at her brother.

"You're a scientist?" Edward asked, sounding more interested in this than anything else that had been said that evening.

"That's right. Father is a professor of biology, and Mother helps him with his research. I also know a thing or two about biology, myself."

"You mean Father lets you putter around the lab as long as you feed the mice and clean the cages," Julius said patronizingly. "You're not a scientist…you're just a fourteen-year-old kid who plays with animals."

Anna felt the heat rise in her face as her brother openly mocked the dream that she secretly held most dear. In front of a perfect stranger, no less. "At least I'm not going to spend the rest of my life filling out useless paperwork," she snapped. "I'll never be a dog of the government, like you were."

Her brother fell silent, and Anna realized that she had gone too far. The heat in her cheeks was from shame, now. She snuck a glance at Edward, who looked like he wished he was anywhere else. "Julius…" she began.

Thrusting a hand into his vest pocket, Julius pulled out his watch and flipped it open. "Well, look at the time. I'd better get to bed, so I'll be well-rested tomorrow when I look for a job to be the dog of another government." He got to his feet without looking at either of them. "Since that's all I'm good for, apparently."

As he left the compartment for the sleeping quarters, the door swung shut behind him with a slam that jarred the silence that now filled the car. Anna's brain worked furiously to come up with a way to smooth over this embarrassing exchange, but the only coherent thought she had was how humiliated she felt and how she had made fools of them all. Julius shouldn't have made fun of her in the first place, but she shouldn't have said what she knew would hurt him deeply. And with Edward as an unwilling third party observer to their spat.

In the end, all she could say was, "I'm sorry. I know how we must seem to you, but we're not usually like this. We…our family has been through a lot in the war."

"It's all right. I think I can relate," Edward replied, with unexpected sympathy.

To her surprise, her face began to feel warm again and she was forced to blink back tears, as though this stranger's words released something inside of her that had been bottled up for too long. She got up and adjusted her hat, and in the most normal-sounding voice she could muster, she said, "I'd better go and see if Julius is ok." There was a pause as she fought to compose herself. "Thank you," she added. Though what exactly she was thanking him for, she wasn't sure. With a rustle of skirts, she hurried after her brother.


	6. A Discovery

**Author's Note: **Thank you, Monk of the Neko, for your encouraging review! I probably should have mentioned it earlier, but this fic is supposed to take place after the last episode in the series. It has nothing to do with the movie that I know of, since I haven't seen it yet and won't be able to see it until it comes out in a language I can understand. I just needed some closure, that's all ;)**  
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**A Discovery**

Julius was already asleep—or feigning sleep—by the time Anna got to their bunk, so she did not have the chance to apologize to him that night. The next morning, when the train pulled into Hermannstadt with a loud screeching of wheels, he all but refused to acknowledge his sister's presence aside from the necessary "Find me on the platform" as he threw on his coat and walked out the door. Anna packed the rest of her things and miserably pulled on her traveling gloves, silently berating herself for not knowing when to keep her mouth shut. Leopold's death during the war had affected them all, but none so deeply as Julius. She sighed. She really should have known better.

After handing her luggage ticket to the porter, Anna tucker her purse under one arm and crossed the walkway that connected the sleeping compartment to the coach compartments. She wondered where Edward had spent the night, since she had not seen any sign of him in the car where she and Julius had stayed; maybe he had been assigned to a different one. In any case, she hoped that she would have a chance to properly say good-bye to him before they parted ways, especially after the way last night ended.

She entered the car where she had last seen him and was surprised to see that he was still there, though this time with his head and arms sprawled across the table, asleep. Underneath him lay an array of papers that were filled with calculations and complicated diagrams. Anna glanced at the sheet lying under his right hand—a schematic for an oddly designed airplane—with passing interest. It was the stuff of books and fantasy, this idea of flying into space, but she was not going to say so, not around him. Nor would anyone else, if she could help it.

Edward seemed so peaceful at rest, with all frowns smoothed away and his nose resting in the crook of his elbow. He looked very young, unexpectedly so, and was probably not much older than she was. It was his eyes, the same eyes that she saw in soldiers who had witnessed the horrors of war, that made him seem older. She felt guilty about disturbing him, but he was going to miss his stop if he didn't wake up soon. "Edward," she said carefully, trying not to be too loud so as not to startle him. She put a hand on his shoulder to shake him out of his slumber, but gasped when his shoulder felt more like a lead pipe than flesh and bone.

Surreptitiously, she trailed her fingers down his arm, which had the same rock-hard consistency as his shoulder. When she reached his wrist, she furtively glanced up to make sure he was still asleep. Feeling like a thief, she hooked one finger under his sleeve and another under his glove. It was improper, it was wrong, but she couldn't stop without knowing what was hiding under that coat of his. She pried apart the fabric and gaped in shock at the metal surface of a life-sized marionette's arm.

_What is this? A…mechanical arm? That's impossible. _But apparently it _was _possible—there was nothing but a ball-and-socket hinge where the wrist should have been, and several large screws dotted the grooved metal plate of his forearm. _Who **is** he?_

Suddenly, Edward's left hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She yelped and unsuccessfully trying to wrench herself free. "Don't do it!" he yelled, his eyes now wide open and blazing with an intensity that saw right through any pretense of innocence she might have had.

"I didn't mean to!" Anna cried fearfully, still struggling. Her handbag slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!"

"Don't do it, Sensei…!" Then he seemed to see her for the first time, and his grip around her wrist loosened. "Anna?" he said, as though he had been expecting someone else. "Ah…sorry. I must have been dreaming. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No…no," she said, unconsciously rubbing her wrist. She willed herself to breathe more evenly and calmly, very calmly, bent down to retrieve her handbag. Part of it was covered in dust, which she meticulously brushed off before returning the purse to its place under her arm. "We're in Hermannstadt. I wanted to wake you up, because you were sleeping. You might have missed it…your stop, I mean…so I woke you up." Now she was repeating herself and was not making all that much sense, but he seemed to understand her.

"I'm glad you did. Thank you," he said sincerely. Anna watched him intently as he began to gather up the papers he had been sleeping on. He seemed to be using his right arm—his metal arm—as naturally as if it had been real, except for the fingers, which remained limp like the first time she saw them. And there was that odd mechanical clicking sound again. It was so soft that she might have missed it if she hadn't been listening for it. _How is something like this even possible?_

"Is there…something wrong?" It was his turn to stare at her, puzzled, which made her realize how openly she had been staring at him.

"Uh, no, nothing's wrong, I was just thinking..." It was then that she noticed, with renewed horror, that the cuff of his right glove poked out unevenly from under the sleeve, revealing the dull metallic gleam of his forearm. "I was just thinking since you're going to be in town for a while, you should come visit us whenever you have the chance. Our gardens are beautiful at this time of year, and—oh! Adriana—that's our maid—makes the _best_ pear pies I've ever tasted! Here, let me write down our telephone number. And this is our address. Oh, you simply _must_ visit! We also—"

"Anna! What's taking you so long?" Her brother's voice cut through her frantic speech, which she was attempting to disguise as bubbly enthusiasm. Julius stood in the doorway of the car, his tall figure framed by the wan morning light. "You're going to end up on the other side of Romania if you don't get off the train. _Now!_" Though it was clear from the expression on his face that he rather preferred the first option.

"Oh! We had better hurry, then. Come on!" She dragged Edward out of his seat by his metal hand, making sure that the glove cuff came out the rest of the way from the sleeve.

They had only taken a few steps when Edward stopped short. "Wait, I almost forgot." He ran back to the table and climbed onto the seat, looking for something Anna couldn't see. He found what he was looking for near the window, and emerged clutching a small book in his good hand that he immediately tucked away under his coat. Before it disappeared into the coat, however, Anna caught sight of various narrow strips of paper haphazardly sticking out of its pages and a beaten leather cover, which gave her the impression that the book was well-used and probably contained important notes of some sort.

When the two of them stepped onto the platform, they were greeted by the remainder of Anna's family. Julius stood with his hands in his trouser pockets, his bored and sullen expression accentuated by the bangs that rakishly fell over his face. Her father was dressed in his usual brown coat and slacks—which were starting to go threadbare despite her mother's tireless attempts to make him wear something different—with round glasses perched on his nose. Finally, her mother, the Countess of Hermannstadt, was as regal and composed as ever, and wore a dress of deep scarlet with an embroidered and elegantly laced-up bodice. Her mother's hair was as dark as Anna's, except the Countess's was done up and largely concealed by a simple white hat.

Introductions were made all around, and Anna once again extended the invitation for Edward to come visit them, seconded by her mother. Edward looked from her mother to Anna, and then to her mother again, as if he was unsure of how to answer.

Anna chuckled lightly. Like most people, he probably found her mother beautiful and intimidating, so she said reassuringly, "Oh, Edward, when Mother says she wants to you come visit, she means it! Don't be afraid to say yes, ok?"

"Our doors are open to you, should you find the time to call on us," her mother said with smooth grace.

"Yeah…ok," Edward laughed nervously, still unable to take his eyes off Anna's mother.

Anna's family already had a car waiting to take them home, so they said their good-byes. When Edward turned to face Julius, he said nothing at first, and appeared to be studying the other boy.

"Hey, Edward." Julius said, as if something had just occurred to him. "How old are you?"

"How old am I?" Edward said, repeating this unexpected question. "I'm fifteen, but I'll be sixteen in a few weeks."

Her brother gaped at Edward in disbelief. "_Really?_ Then how come you're so short?"

For the first time, Anna noticed that Julius towered over the blond-haired boy, who immediately snapped, "What did you say?"

Julius quickly got over his shock and couldn't resist the urge to provoke Edward even further. "You're almost sixteen, but you're barely taller than my little sister."

"You gotta problem with that?"

"Not unless you do, my little friend."

"Did you just call me little!"

"Let me see…as a matter of fact, I did."

Anna sighed. Why did her big brother always have to be such a pain in the butt? "Julius, be nice," she said warningly.

"I'm not little!"

"You are if you can fit into my shadow like that."

"_Julius!_" Anna said, exasperated.

"Oh yeah? Let's see how well my fist can fit into your face!"

When she realized that neither of them were listening to her, she stepped between them. "Julius, you need to shut your big mouth and stop making fun of this poor boy! And Edward, I know my brother can be a real jerk, and I apologize for that. But please ignore him when he can't seem to control his tongue."

But her brother only laughed and put one hand on his hip. "Aw, sis, we were just messing around. Right, Edward?"

Edward, however, was still steaming, but managed to calm down enough to lower his fist. "Hmph. One day I'll be taller than you, Russell, and we'll see what you have to say then."

"I already told you, my name's not Russell, it's Julius."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Brother, just get in the car."

Smirking, Julius complied with her request, and Anna climbed in after him. But before she closed the door, she turned to Edward one last time. "Promise you'll come see us, ok? Hermannstadt is a pretty big place, so I can show you around."

"All right…I will," Edward agreed, if a bit hesitantly.

As the car drove off, Anna watched Edward's figure grow smaller and smaller through the passenger seat window. Even she did not quite know why she was so drawn to this boy. Maybe it was his intense golden eyes that were sometimes distant, sometimes fierce with emotion, but always thinking about something. Maybe it was his unshakable determination in chasing a dream that no one else believed in. Or maybe it was—

"Fiesty little fellow, isn't he?" her mother remarked from the front of the car.

"Oh, Mama, Edward's not always like that. He's probably just sensitive about his height. You know good Julius is at getting people riled up."

"_Hey!_"

"You know it's true," she replied with a sniff. "Anyway, the reason I wanted to invite him over is because…I feel kind of sorry for him. He's from Germany, and he's all alone in a new country. And I think he's been through a lot in the war, more than we have."

"Why do you say that?" her mother asked with mild interest.

Anna hesitated for a moment. Revealing what she had found made her feel like she was betraying a secret that she had been entrusted with, so she leaned forward and whispered into her mother's ear.

Her mother looked out the window, her expression neutral, to catch another glimpse of the blond-haired stranger before the car turned the corner. "Is that so?"


	7. Alphonse

**Author's Note:** Thank you, Basser and Monk of the Neko, for your kind reviews! For those who don't know, Amestris is the name of the country where FMA takes place. Also, "Nii-san" means "(Older) Brother" and "Sensei" means "Teacher." I should probably use the English translation of these words for the sake of consistency, but I'm so used to watching the subtitled Japanese version of FMA that it would just be weird. So, yeah ;)

* * *

**Alphonse**

It was a bright summer day in the village of Dublith in southern Amestris. The sapphire sky was clear except for the occasional cloud that billowed by like a lazy traveler crossing through familiar country. The air was warm with just a touch of humidity, and the breeze that teased the curtains in Izumi Curtis's house carried the scent of freshly washed laundry. Izumi was at the kitchen sink up to her elbows in suds, washing the dishes they had used at lunch. It was just past one in the afternoon, and her husband, along with Mason, had already gone back to tending the butcher shop. The two men had taken most of the responsibility of running the shop into their own hands, as Izumi now had a little responsibility of her own to care for.

That little responsibility sat at the kitchen table in the form of Alphonse Elric, who was reading intently from a large book in front of him. He sat with his legs tucked under the chair and crossed at the ankle, as still as a statue except for the occasional page turn. Izumi watched him out the corner of her eye as she worked, noting how small he seemed next to the huge alchemy textbook. Al did not have the same insecurities about his size that his brother did, but maybe that was because Al had been taller than Edward, back when they were both still her students. It probably also had to do with his personality and his being the younger of the two, since Al lacked the bull-headed pride that his brother had earned a reputation for. It was a little strange to see him like this, as a ten-year-old boy again, after she had just gotten used to seeing him as a hulking suit of armor.

Ever since they had arrived at Dublith, Al had been spending every free moment he possessed reading about alchemy. He was even more devoted to learning alchemy than before, and Izumi knew that part—if not all—of his motivation came from wanting to be reunited with Edward someday. In fact, he reminded her of how hard Edward had studied when she accepted the two boys as her apprentices so many years ago. A lifetime ago, really. So much had changed since then. How much of it was good and how much of it was bad was irrelevant; the only thing they could do was to move forward, just as Edward had once said to her.

She glanced over at Al again as she rinsed the soap off a tall glass. His sandy brown hair had the habit of falling into his face, especially with his head bent over like that, often invoking a motherly urge to brush it back. After Izumi rinsed off the last plate, she turned off the water and wiped her hands on a blue-and-white checkered kitchen towel.

When Al noticed that the sound of running water had ceased, he was immediately out of his chair and at her side. "Sensei, do you want me to help you dry the dishes?" he asked in his high, boyish voice. Then, slightly abashed, he said, "I should have asked if you needed help washing them. I'm sorry."

Izumi smiled at him kindly. "That's ok. Here," she said, and handed him a towel. "But to make up for not helping me before, I'm going to test you on what you've been reading."

"Yes, Sensei."

"What was the last chapter you finished?"

"'Principles of Transmuting Elements and Minerals.'"

"What are the four rules for transmuting iron?"

It went on like this for the next few minutes, and as the questions Izumi asked became progressively more and more difficult, she was impressed at Al's ability to not only answer them, but explain the underlying mechanisms and reasons why. Edward had always been more adept at alchemy and more knowledgeable than Al, but she wondered if that was because Al had been in his brother's shadow for all these years and was only now beginning to develop his full potential.

They started putting away the dishes, and Al handed her a clean plate as she tried to think of something else to ask him. "Sensei," he said.

The suddenly serious tone in his voice made her look around at him. "What is it, Al?"

"I want to find Nii-san with the Philosopher's Stone."

The plate in Izumi's hand slipped to the floor and shattered, sending pieces skidding over the hardwood floor and under the furniture. Did he just say what she thought he said? She and everyone else involved in the ordeal of the Philosopher's Stone had already explained to him all that had happened, from the brothers maiming themselves to the Homunculi to the creation of the Stone in Al himself. And yet…was that not enough?

When Izumi overcame her shock, she said in a tight voice, "Al, do you realize what you're saying?"

Two slate-gray eyes looked up at her quizzically, then widened in horrified surprise. "Oh, no, no, no, that's not what I meant, Sensei!" he squeaked in protest. Then, more calmly, he said, "Sensei, I've been thinking about everything that happened, everything that everyone told me about. I remember what Rose told me about the time I used the Philosopher's Stone to bring Nii-san back to life. She said that the Homunculus named Gluttony ate part of my armor before I did the transmutation. So that must mean…"

"…the Philosopher's Stone still exists. Inside Gluttony," she finished for him. After a moment, she said, "Are you going to find this Homunculus on your own?"

"If I have to."

Izumi frowned at her one remaining pupil. "I don't think you realize how dangerous these creatures are."

But Al would not be dissuaded. "Sensei, I need to find him. It doesn't matter how dangerous it might be. I may not remember it, but Nii-san and I did many dangerous things so we could restore each other's bodies. We never let the possibility of danger stand in our way."

"Yet here we are, with you back to your original self and your brother taken by the Gate," Izumi said quietly. "Both of you have suffered so much. How long will you continue to pay the price?"

"Nii-san sacrificed himself so he could bring me back. And we promised each other that we would never let anything happen to the other person. That's why I need to bring him back." Izumi looked hard into his eyes and saw in them the unwavering determination that she was more used to seeing in fierce golden eyes. Then Al lowered his gaze and said ruefully, "Besides, it was my fault that Nii-san lost his arm and leg. I knew we shouldn't have tried to transmute our mother, but I didn't stop him. This is all my fault."

"Al…" Izumi murmured wonderingly. Even though Al was partly to blame for the failed transmutation experiment, she knew that Al never would have ventured into the forbidden realm of human transmutation on his own. It had been Edward's idea, even if Edward never said as much; she had recognized the burden of guilt he shouldered, because it mirrored her own. But Al was so devoted to his older brother that he never once thought of himself.

"I'm sorry about the plate, Sensei," Al apologized. He bent down, took out a piece of chalk from his pocket, and drew a circle on the floor that was crossed with several intersecting lines. With a little frown of concentration, he put his hands flat on the floor around the outside of the circle, which began to emit rays of soft blue light. Izumi watched in astonishment as the shards of the broken china clattered over the wooden floorboards and converged over the transmutation circle to form one whole plate.

She squatted next to the circle and picked up the plate to examine it. Its glossy surface was seamless, as if it had never been broken. "Recreating something from its components without having all of them present in the transmutation circle," she said, as though talking to herself. "In fact, none of the pieces were in the transmutation circle. I have never seen anyone do anything like this before, unless they were physically touching the thing they were trying to recreate." She lightly traced the pattern on the floor with her index finger, which accumulated a layer of white powder. "I have never seen this configuration before, either. Where did you learn to do this, Al?"

"I reversed the flow of energy used to transmute objects at a distance and combined it with the theory of reconstruction. I didn't know if anyone has tried it before, so I wanted to see if it would work."

_Fascinating_, Izumi thought. _Not even Edward had been this resourceful at this age_. The interweaving of two of the most basic concepts in alchemy was ingenious in its simplicity. Edward had always pushed and pushed to understand the most complicated theories and equations he could get his hands on, for the sole purpose of achieving human transmutation. But Al did not share his brother's one-track way of thinking and was the more patient of the two, so in a sense, it came as no surprise to Izumi that Al's talent would manifest in this way.

When Izumi did not respond, Al looked at her with worried eyes. "Sensei? Did I do something wrong?"

She chuckled and reached out a hand to ruffle his hair. "Not at all. I was just surprised that my youngest student was able to come up with something like this." Then she stood up and put the plate on the counter. "Now, it's time for your training session."

"What?" Al said, and stood as well. "But I thought you wanted me to practice alchemy this afternoon."

"I do," Izumi said with a sly grin. "I want you to use alchemy when you spar with me. Show me everything you've got, because Homunculi won't hold back like I will."

Al gaped at her. "You mean…you're not mad at me for wanting to go after the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Mad? No, Al. I'm coming with you."

As Al's face broke into a wide grin, Izumi wondered if she _was_ mad after all, for going on a wild goose chase (a potentially deadly one at that) with a ten-year-old boy. But even though she would never admit it out loud, she wanted to see those yellow eyes again, too.


	8. Central

**Author's Note:** Many thanks to Barbara Akers, Basser, and tennis-tensai for their reviews! Basser – Izumi is way too badass to be left out, and heck, Al is half the story of FMA. How can I not write about him? ;) All right, on with the show!

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**Central **

Izumi had never been fond of cities, and Central City was no exception. The constant jostling as people pushed by her on the crowded streets grated on her nerves, and the endless noise of cars roaring by and hawkers shrilly crying their wares did not help. In addition, she had to keep on making sure that she didn't lose Al, who in his ten-year-old memory had never been to any city larger than Dublith. He would often stop and stare in wide-eyed wonder at exotic merchandise hanging in shop windows, buildings that stretched taller than even the tallest tree, and people of different skin colors wearing clothing he had never seen before. She would sometimes keep walking without realizing that he had not followed her, and ended up fighting the flow of the crowd to search for him. Al was much harder to keep track of now that he was no longer a gigantic suit of armor.

When at last they reached their destination, Izumi breathed a sigh of relief at finally being able to walk on open ground instead of being lost in a sea of humanity. The destination itself, however, was not a cause for relief, at least not for Izumi. She and Al walked up a short set of steps to one end of a long, open courtyard that looked like it was designed to hold a large audience of people. At the other end stood an imposing building that was adorned only by a green banner of a rearing white lion draped over the front.

"Sensei, is this Central Headquarters?" Al asked, gazing in awe at the stark stone walls of the edifice before them.

Izumi studied the building's utilitarian front, and her mouth twisted as though she had tasted something bitter. "It is. Come on, let's get this over with."

She started down the courtyard without waiting for Al. So far, there was nothing about this visit that she liked, and she had the distinct feeling that she was going to like it even less once they were inside.

The inside of Central Headquarters was no less stern than its exterior: mottled gray tiles covered the floor, and the white walls were bare except for the occasional portraits of past generals and war heroes. Across from the front entrance was a receptionist's desk which was occupied by a young woman in standard issue military blue, taking phone calls and filling out documents.

When the receptionist got off the phone, she noticed the new arrivals standing there. "May I help you?"

"Yes," Izumi said. "We're here to see—"

"_Izumi?_"

Two soldiers were coming down one of the side halls toward them, a man with dull blond hair and a woman with short black hair. It was the woman who had spoken.

"Izumi, is that really you?"

"Second Lieutenant Ross. Second Lieutenant Broche," Izumi said, acknowledging each one in turn. She remembered them from the fateful day when she and Edward had stormed the military headquarters in search of the Fuhrer. "Yes, it really is me."

Broche laughed and said, "No, we're Lieutenants, now. We both got promoted for having the guts to stand up to that madman Archer. But anyway, what are you doing here in Central?"

"We have business with Mustang," she answered in carefully measured tones.

"The Brigadier General? What do you want to see him for?" Broche asked. When Izumi only frowned, he scratched his head and said, "Ahh…bad question?"

It was then that Lieutenant Ross stepped in to relieve her partner from further awkwardness. "So, who's this little fellow with you?" she said, and leaned forward with her hands on her knees so she was at eye level with Al.

"I'm Alphonse Elric!" Al said. Then, proudly pointing a thumb at himself, he added, "I'm Edward Elric's little brother."

"Alphonse…Elric?" Ross said, stunned. Broche could only gape at the young boy.

"You and Lieutenant Broche used to watch over us, right?"

Lieutenant Maria Ross gazed wonderingly at this Al she had never seen before. She had not realized how young he had been when he lost his body. To think that this boy had inhabited a towering suit of armor for over four years was incongruous in her mind, but his human eyes still held the same open innocence that his armored ones had. "Yes…we did. We watched over you," she said, and instinctively smoothed back his sandy brown hair with one hand.

"Nice to meet you. I mean, nice to see you again," Al said, hastily correcting himself. "Please forgive me. I'm sorry that I don't remember you."

"That's all right. We know about what happened. Scieszka told us," she said with a smile. Even without his memories, Al was still Al as she had known him.

"You know, Scieszka would really love to see you," Broche said after he recovered from his shock. "You've changed so much, and…ah, no, I didn't mean it _that _way…I meant…well anyway, you should go pay her a visit." He scratched the side of his head awkwardly as Lieutenant Ross inwardly sighed.

"There will be time for visiting later," Izumi said, thankfully ending that line of conversation. "Right now, we have more urgent matters to attend to."

"Right! The Brigadier General!" Broche said immediately, and beckoned Izumi and Al to follow him. "Right this way."

The four of them took the elevator to the sixth floor, whose atmosphere contrasted sharply with the austere personality of the ground floor. The sixth floor held the private offices of highly ranked officers and was luxurious in comparison. Lush maroon carpet stretched out before them and branched out in different directions wherever the hallways intersected. The doors were carved and polished with intricate designs that Izumi's eyes could not follow, however hard she tried to trace them. The doorframes were fluted on the sides and each sported a wooden crest across the top. The halls were lit by lamps made of blown glass and shiny brass affixed to the wall. It looked like the higher-ups in the military rather enjoyed the material benefits of governing the country, in Izumi's opinion.

The two officers led her and Al down the hall, around the corner to the right and down the corridor. Izumi watched their reflections in the tall cross-hatched windows as they passed, and marveled that she was in Central City at all—and at the military headquarters, no less. She had no love for the military; she had seen too many families broken by Amestris's constant warfare when their sons and husbands did not return from Ishbal. The government whisked them away, and when it was not able to give them back, it issued monetary reparations instead. But what good was money when a loved one was gone forever? Izumi used alchemy for healing, but the healing she did in Dublith during the Ishbal war was of a different kind.

She understood that the military had been manipulated by Dante and her Homunculi for years, but that did not excuse the individual actions of the soldiers. They were just following orders, that was true, but that was because they had become dogs of the military when they chose to join the service. A dog had to do what its master ordered, whether they agreed with it or not. That was why she had refused to become a State Alchemist, even when the military all but begged her to enlist. Little did she know that one of her apprentices would accept the position she so despised. And little did he know, as young as he had been, where that path would take him.

A door suddenly opened not far down the hall, and out walked a man and a woman in cobalt-blue uniforms. The man was pale and had jet-black hair that fell into his face in strands. He wore a patch over his left eye, but his remaining eye was dark and piercing, and Izumi suspected that nothing escaped his attention. A silver chain dangled between his leather belt and his trousers pocket. Although she had never met this man before, she knew who he was before he even opened his mouth.

"Roy Mustang," she said, and stepped forward.

A look of surprise briefly crossed his face. It was obvious that he was not used to being addressed so directly by a civilian. "Yes, I am Brigadier General Mustang," he said. "I don't believe we've met."

"I am Izumi Curtis. I'm the one who taught alchemy to Edward and Alphonse Elric. I have seen your face in the newspapers."

Mustang smirked as though she had said something amusing. "Ah, yes. It seems that I caused quite the uproar."

He was referring to the flurry of press coverage in the aftermath of the Fuhrer's disappearance and the revolution that he had incited. Izumi instantly disliked his smug attitude, and she understood why Edward could not stand this man.

"Well, what brings the teacher of the Elric brothers all this way? Have you come to finally enlist in the service? Or do you plan to attempt an overthrow of the headquarters a third time?"

His calm, mocking manner infuriated her, but Izumi forced herself to bite back an angry retort. "We have come to inquire about a missing individual."

"A missing person? You had better take that up with the Missing Persons Bureau, then."

Izumi stared hard at him. "It's not just any missing person, Mustang."

The Brigadier General returned her stare, as though trying to pick out the real reason she was here. "Lieutenant Hawkeye," he said, suddenly.

The blond-haired woman next to him stood at attention and saluted. "Yes, Brigadier General," she said crisply.

"I would like you to take my spare uniform to the dry cleaner's before we convene for this afternoon's meeting."

"Yes, sir."

"Also, don't forget to pick up a pack of beef jerky. I think we're out."

"As you wish, sir."

"And be sure not to make any plans for this evening. I'm taking you out to dinner tonight."

"Very good, sir," she said evenly, but Izumi thought she detected a faint blush in the woman's cheeks. Evidently the other lieutenants were just as astonished as she was, and there was an uncomfortable silence as they looked from Hawkeye to Mustang. Al was staring, too, but Izumi noticed that his eyes were fixed on a point past the four officers. She scanned the hallway but could not see what Al found so interesting. There was a slight movement out of the corner of her eye, but all she saw was a brief flash of yellow in one of the windows beyond the Brigadier General.

After Lieutenant Hawkeye left, Mustang turned his attention back to Izumi. "Izumi and Alphonse, come with me. Lieutenant Broche and Lieutenant Ross, you are dismissed."

"Yes sir," the two officers said, saluting in unison, and took their leave as well.

"Excuse me, Brigadier General," Al began timidly. "How did you know who I am? No one else seems to recognize me ever since I regained my body."

"I was a friend of your father's, Alphonse. I have seen pictures of you when you were young."

Al ducked his head at the mention of his father; Hohenheim Elric had disappeared shortly before his brother had. Even though Al had no memory of having met his father, Izumi knew that he did not share Edward's hard feelings toward the man. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Mustang led the way into his office, and closed the door behind them. He motioned for Al and Izumi to have a seat on one of the upholstered chairs in the middle of the room, and he himself took his place behind the desk. He folded his hands together in front of him, the twin red alchemy circles embroidered on his gloves now in plain view. "Now, can someone tell me what this is about?"

"On the night of the Fuhrer's disappearance, several people went missing," Izumi began.

"The Full Metal Alchemist," Mustang said soberly, no longer mocking or nonchalant.

"Yes, but Edward was not the only one. There was also a woman named Dante, as well as two Homunculi."

"Dante…do you mean the person who reportedly infiltrated the military with Homunculi?"

"Not only that. She was also the mastermind behind the 5th Laboratory operations. Until she is captured, she remains a threat to our country."

"But the 5th Laboratory has been shut down and thoroughly investigated, and the Homunculi have already been expunged from our ranks."

"Dante is a highly skilled alchemist, capable of deceiving even those who know her well. She has made it her lifelong objective to obtain the Philosopher's Stone, and will stop at nothing to achieve that goal."

"How do you know all this, Izumi Curtis?"

"I learned alchemy from her when I was younger. That was before I knew her true nature. Later on, we crossed paths under less friendly circumstances." That was not entirely true; Izumi had never seen Dante again after she discovered her true identity. But she had to bend the truth a little if she and Al were to accomplish their purpose in Central. "She is most likely in hiding now and carrying out her plans as we speak."

"I see. I will assign someone to her case right away."

"What?" Izumi protested, alarmed. "I don't think you realize how dangerous this person is. Even Edward and Alphonse together could not defeat her."

"What else can I do? My resources are already stretched thin from rebuilding and maintaining the peace in Ishbal and Lior, not to mention providing liaisons between the military and the new Parliament. I can hardly afford to spare anyone as it is."

"Even when this is a matter of public security?"

"To be frank, I don't think Dante is much of a threat. The government is aware of the breach in the military's leadership, and we have ensured that no Homunculi remain in our ranks. We are also on the alert for any signs of activity or research related to the Red Water or the Philosopher's Stone, so it is unlikely that her schemes will go unnoticed. Furthermore, your story is suspect. I find it hard to believe that Homunculi would obey any human being, let alone a single person. But if you're so bent on finding this woman, you may collaborate with the officer on the case."

"Very well," Izumi said, trying her best to sound disgruntled. It was not hard to fake at this point. "Then I request permission to investigate what remains of the 5th Laboratory, since that was where Dante was last seen."

Mustang narrowed his good eye at the hard-faced woman with hair done up in strange black braids sitting before him. Then, smirking, he pushed a button on a radio communicator on his desk. "This is Brigadier General Mustang speaking. Please send up Major Yuki Morris."

"Right away, Brigadier General," answered a staticky female voice on the other end.

Shortly thereafter, there came a soft knock on the door. "Come in," Mustang called.

The door opened, revealing a tall girl with shoulder-length brown hair in a blue military uniform that looked slightly too big for her. She saluted smartly and said, "You sent for me, Brigadier General?"

"I did. Izumi Curtis and Alphonse Elric, I'd like you to meet Yuki Morris, the Soul-binding Alchemist. You will be working with her from now on."


	9. Beneath the City

**Author's Note: **After much internal debate, I decided to split the next chapter into two parts. So here is part one. Thank you for your review, Basser. Don't worry, we'll be seeing a lot more of Ed pretty soon, though just not yet. ;)

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**Beneath the City**

"The Soul-binding Alchemist?" Izumi echoed. She clenched her fist in outrage. "Is the military now openly experimenting with human transmutation? Have you not learned anything from the 5th Laboratory? Or Lior?"

Roy Mustang chuckled in amusement. "I suppose the name is a bit misleading. Her name is 'Soul-binding,' as in 'soul-healing.' She binds souls as one would bind a wound. Her specialty is the realm of sleep and dreams, and both the shell-shocked soldier and the official with insomnia have found her useful."

"I see," Izumi replied, still perturbed, although for a different reason now. If they ran across Dante or Gluttony, the Soul-binding girl would only get in harm's way. Normally, she would have been overjoyed to see someone in the military use alchemy in a healing capacity, but if Yuki followed the trend among the State Alchemists, she probably carried a transmutation circle that allowed her to do one thing only: to induce sleep and manipulate people's dreams. Which would be useless in any life-or-death situation that they were likely to face.

"You will be interested to know that at sixteen years of age, she is the youngest person to ever become a State Alchemist, second only to Edward Elric." Mustang unfolded his hands and steepled the tips of his fingers together. "Full Metal's record is rather tough to beat, after all."

Izumi, however, was not interested in hearing about Yuki's precociousness and was even less interested in listening to Mustang talk about her student like he was a prized racehorse with the fastest track time. "We should get started without anymore delay," Izumi said curtly, and stood to leave. "This may take some time, and I wish to return home as soon as possible. My husband cannot run the butcher shop by himself."

Mustang rose from his chair as well and gestured at Al and Izumi. "Major, these two are concerned about a fugitive known as Dante who was involved in the illegal research carried out in the 5th Laboratory. I am assigning you to investigate this person's disappearance. Izumi and Alphonse will assist you, since they knew Dante personally. Please escort them to the 5th Laboratory."

Yuki saluted again, her face stern and business-like. "Yes, sir."

Since Yuki was with them, Izumi and Al had no trouble getting past security at the 5th Laboratory. However, the 5th Laboratory Yuki had brought them to was not the 5th Laboratory that Izumi had had in mind. This one was an abandoned research facility across the street from one of the state prisons. Its perimeter was walled off and intruders were deterred by barbed wire along the top, and soldiers patrolled the entrance to keep others out while the government carried out its inspection.

The facility looked as though it had weathered a small war. Large sections of the outer walls had been completely blown out, and the interior was not much better. Not a single room stood untouched, and sometimes Izumi could see through one room right into another. There were so many holes in the walls and the floor that Izumi wondered that the building was standing at all. However, there was no sign of the Red Water; the military must have confiscated it long ago. As they walked between the roped-off areas and inspection equipment, Izumi said, "Major, does the government know about the true 5th Laboratory? The one that's located underground? This one is just a front for the real research facility."

The tall girl nodded agreement. "Yes, we are aware of that. I am taking you there right now."

_There must be more than one entrance, then_. Izumi thought back to the contents of the excerpt from Nash Tringham's diary. It had described the entrance as an altar in a small church in the northern part of the city. That was the way Edward had taken. Maybe she and Al should have taken that way and bypassed the military entirely. It would have made things much simpler. But if anyone had found them skulking about the most secret part of the 5th Laboratory, there would have been questions, and that would have made things more complicated. In the end, it was probably better to appear as though they didn't have anything at all to hide.

They reached the end of a hallway where a heavy metal door had been propped open. It looked like the entrance to a large safe, and had probably been designed to conceal the elevator behind it. Yuki slid the real elevator door to the side and pulled open the metal grate. Izumi and Al followed her inside, and they descended into the bowels of the 5th Laboratory, the elevator rattled loudly along its pulley.

The lone bulb illuminating the elevator flickered fitfully and the car shuddered so violently that Izumi feared it might come apart. Yuki stood as straight as a pole and appeared unaffected by the jolting descent. Her skin was surprisingly pale, especially for the summertime, as though it were untouched by the sun. In the gritty, dim light of the elevator, there appeared to be shadows and dark lines across her face, as if she often worked too hard and slept too little. In addition, her rigid, unsmiling demeanor, which would have gone unnoticed in a seasoned officer, was unusual to see in someone so young. She was not like any other sixteen year old that Izumi knew.

There was a tap on her shoulder. "What is it, Al?"

Al motioned for her to lean closer. "Sensei, why didn't you tell the Brigadier General that we're looking for Gluttony?" he whispered. "Why did you tell him we wanted to find Dante?"

"You and your brother have been pursued in the past because it was thought that you were collaborating with Homunculi," Izumi replied in hushed tones, making sure her words were covered up by the rattling of the elevator. "Circumstances are different, now, but I think it is unwise to express interest in any of the Homunculi. I only used Dante as an excuse to get us into the 5th Laboratory. Hopefully we'll be able to find a clue about what happened to Gluttony."

"I see." Al thought about this for a moment. Then he looked up again and said, "But what about Dante? Shouldn't we try to find her too? She might try to create the Philosopher's Stone again."

"She may be with Gluttony, but it's hard to say. According to Rose, Dante and Gluttony fled separately. It seems that Dante did not have complete control over him. In any case, we must try to reach him before she does."

At last, the elevator reached the lower level of the 5th Laboratory and opened into a narrow hallway. Piles of crates were stacked along either wall, and filmy cobwebs covered the rotting wood like ghostly sheets. The hallway curved slightly to the left and ended at an arched doorway, which led them into the vastest concert hall Izumi had ever seen. A wide stage at the front overlooked an open dance floor that stretched from the stage to the massive double doors at the other end of the room. Rows of seats were set back from the dance floor, overshadowed by balconies on the upper floors. The ornate, flowery architecture and the velvet curtains draped in doorways and over the balconies made it beautiful, but the empty seats and unlit chandeliers made it a concert hall for ghosts. It was like gazing into the bones of a well-preserved skeleton whose life had faded away hundreds of years ago.

There was a row of candles in the front, along the stage, that guided their way. They had only taken a few steps when Al broke away and ran toward the center of the open floor.

"Al?"

He was followed by Izumi, and finally by Yuki, who removed a candelabrum from the stage and brought it with her. When they reached him, he had dropped to his knees at the edge of a large circle inked onto the floor. Izumi slowed to a halt and knelt down next to him. It was not like most transmutation circles; instead of being straight, the lines inside it curved and flowed and interwove with each other until they converged into a single arrow down the middle. It was not even a true circle, since the lines that composed it tapered off to the sides like the wings of a grotesque bird in flight. She recognized it, and there was no doubt that Al recognized it, too.

He reached out a hand to touch the pattern of the human transmutation circle, the one that brought him back to this world. And took his brother away. "Nii-san…"

In the light of the candles in Yuki's hand, the black outline of the circle was bold and defiant on the smooth wooden floor, a symbol that went against every natural law in the universe. It was the mark of sin, a stain on all their souls, something that they had been too foolish to understand until it was too late.

When Edward brought Al back, however, it was different. It was not like the time when Izumi tried to raise her dead son or when her young students tried to bring back their mother. The transmutations that brought forth Homunculi were done out of selfishness, with the expectation of receiving something without giving anything in return. But when Edward performed human transmutation for the last time, he did it out of love for his brother, without any concern for the consequence to himself. _He was willing to offer up everything. _Izumi reached out her own hand and touched the circle. _Only then was human transmutation able to succeed._

Al stood up and walked to another part of the room. The floor there was splotchy and rust-colored, like something had been spilled and dried up. "This is where Nii-san died," he said quietly, his head bent. "There was a lot of blood."

They stood in silence. Al clenched his fists at his sides. "Nii-san isn't dead." He turned around to look at Izumi. "He's still inside the Gate, just like my body was inside the Gate. I just have to figure out how to get him back."

His gray eyes were bright in the wavering candlelight. "Major," Izumi said, without looking away. "Please show us the rest of the 5th Laboratory."


	10. The Underground River

**Author's Note: **Wha-la, part 2 of the formerly super-long chapter! Also time to up the rating – I should have known this was going to happen, sooner or later. I mean, this is FMA we're talking about. Don't worry, there won't be anything worse than what we've already seen in the series.

* * *

**The Underground River**

Yuki led Al and Izumi through another doorway and down a long flight of stairs. Eventually they reached a sprawling underground laboratory, far below the city beneath the city. They walked between tables and benches filled with flasks and strange apparatuses that emptied into large buckets and vats. Detailed diagrams of the human body hung on the walls, along with scribbled transmutation circles, probably the works in progress of the alchemists who had once worked here. They also passed by contraptions of unknown function, but after noticing the wheels and belts and hooks, Izumi did not want to guess what they had been used for.

Covering one of the walls was a glass tank that was partially hidden by a curtain. When Yuki saw where Izumi was looking, she explained, "That was where the researchers stored their unfinished projects. But as you can see, it's empty. We have already disposed of the remains."

Izumi frowned. They had come here to track down a Homunculus, not take a macabre tour of a human research facility. "Have there been any signs of anyone trying to escape? Anything that looked like it had been eaten away by acid?"

"There was no one down here when the military arrived," Yuki answered. "Apparently whoever had researched human transmutation had abandoned their work some time ago. However, there are several elevator shafts here that lead to different parts of the city. That was how the researchers were able to gain access to the laboratory without raising any suspicion."

"I see." This was getting them nowhere. Dante could have left the 5th Laboratory and the underground city any number of ways, and there was nothing to suggest that Gluttony had even been here at all. It was not that she doubted Rose's story; they just had no clues as to where to begin looking for the Homunculus. "Thank you, Major."

Izumi walked along the walls of the wide room and studied them for any signs of decomposition or alteration by alchemy. As far as she could tell, the walls were more or less intact and only showed the wear and tear of the years. She sighed. This was pointless. If Gluttony and Dante had wanted to escape, they would have gone _up_ the way they came, not _down_ to the heart of the 5th Laboratory. "Well, I'm not able to find anything here," she said loudly, and headed for the staircase. "Let's go back upstairs, Al."

But instead of joining her, Al remained by a pile of rubble by the wall across the room from Izumi.

"Did you find something, Al?"

"Major, how many elevators are there in this room?" he asked.

"Four. The one you're standing next to has caved in."

"Just as I thought." He indicated the elevator doors on the other walls of the room. "Sensei, there's one door for every wall. This one doesn't have any. This must be the missing door."

"Do you think that's how they escaped?" Izumi asked, skeptical.

"I don't know. Maybe. But it's different from the others. I think we should look."

"All right," she said, and helped him clear away the rubble. They were unlikely to find anything, but at this point, it was better than nothing.

After a few minutes, they had exposed the outer doors of the elevator, which had been twisted and bent out of shape. Behind them were more chunks of stone and concrete, stained dark with moisture from the dank underground atmosphere. Al wiped the sweat from his forehead, and with Yuki's help, pulled away one of the doors with a great heave and a showering of rubble. His left hand brushed against something damp and sticky. He held it up to his face, and saw that his fingers were covered in something dark and thick as tar.

"Sensei…what is this?"

Yuki brought the candles closer, and Izumi spat on her hand and rubbed it on the sticky black stuff. Her fingers came away bright red. "It's blood. The humid air down here must have kept it congealed so it wouldn't dry up completely." She wiped her hand on the floor. "Major, where does this elevator lead?"

"It leads to the entrance of the concert hall one level up. The next level leads to the study of the former Fuhrer Bradley."

"Is that so?" Izumi mused. "I think we need to find out what happened in this elevator shaft. Major, please stand back. Al and I need you to hold the light for us."

They were able to clear away enough rubble to reveal that the other wall of the elevator shaft had collapsed, as well. The more they removed, the more blood-streaked their hands became from the blood that stained the wreckage. There was also a sweet, heavy, metallic smell that permeated the air. Finally, they created an opening wide enough for them to crawl through. Izumi could not tell where it led, but she could hear the sound of rushing water.

"Ok," Izumi said, straightening. "I'm going to go through first. Then Al will follow me. Major, please wait for us here."

Izumi half-expected Yuki to object, but the girl only saluted and said, "Yes, ma'am."

On the other side was a large underground cavern with a river running through it. The area was awash in a soft blue glow from dimly luminescent rock formations in the water and shafts of light that penetrated the rocky ceiling. Massive stone statues of faces with geometrical features were partially submerged in a stagnant part of the river. Their eyes were closed, and their expressions were peaceful, as in meditation or even mourning. A stairway had been etched into the rock along the riverbank, and its upward ascent appeared to eventually lead up to the surface.

The ground directly below Izumi's feet was dark and sticky with blood, just as she suspected it would be. Whoever it belonged to must have tried to escape this way.

With a small grunt, Al tumbled out of the elevator shaft and landed next to her. "Look, Al," Izumi said, pointing at the trail of blood. "It leads all the way to the river."

Al nodded and rolled up the long sleeves of his shirt to reveal twin leather bands around his wrists, on which were inscribed two identical transmutation circles. "We'd better be ready for anything, Sensei."

As they slowly edged toward the river, they noticed several shallow craters in the ground and stalactites that had fallen from the ceiling, as if a massive struggle had taken place. Entire sections of the stone stairway had been gouged out or crushed to pieces. The trail of blood weaved unevenly from side to side, as if the person it belonged to was having trouble keeping their balance. Izumi kept her eyes trained on the shadows in the rocks protruding from the cavern wall. There was nothing but the sound of their shoes on the silty ground and the uninterrupted flow of the river downstream.

The cavern floor dropped precipitously onto a river bank of boulders and jagged rocks. Any blood at this point would have already been washed away by the river. Izumi looked back over her shoulder at the dark, staggering path they had followed. _Is it possible for a human being to lose this much blood and live?_ Izumi wondered. _Even if it is Dante?_

"Sensei, look." Al pointed at something sticking up between the rocks of the river bank. It looked like a shoe. No, two shoes. With legs.

Al hopped over the ledge and ran a short ways downstream, and Izumi followed after him. He got to the shoes first, and uttered a muffled shriek and stumbled backwards. When Izumi reached him, she saw what made him recoil. Two elegant shoes made for dancing were strapped to a pair feet connected to legs garbed in stockings that were shredded in places. The owner of the legs had worn a ball gown of some sort, as evidenced by the torn satin skirt and petticoats that partially encircled the legs. Above the waist, there was nothing but a ragged, bloody edge where the torso had once been attached. There was blood all over the body, staining the fabric a rusty dark brown. The areas exposed by the torn stockings were dusky purple, like the color of an angry bruise, and had turned black in some places. Splotchy brownish-green fungus grew along the calves, and the whole thing smelled like raw meat that had been spoiled for days in the sun.

Al was leaning against the ledge, trying not to retch. There was no question in Izumi's mind who the severed legs belonged to. Aside from Rose, Dante had been the only human female present in the underground city when Edward disappeared. Rose had made it out alive. Dante, on the other hand…

"Not even Dante could have survived this," Izumi said. "Let's go, Al."

They made their way upstream as Al struggled to get a hold of himself. "Maybe we need to sit down for a moment," Izumi suggested. Grateful, Al nodded wordlessly.

As Al regained his composure, Izumi considered the implications of their discovery. Dante was dead, that was certain; but how? Could a powerful woman who had managed to live hundreds of years have met her end at the hands of a Homunculus, or even in a freak elevator accident? It seemed unlikely, but she couldn't deny that half of a woman's body lay several yards away from them. It looked like it had been decomposing for over a month, which fit the timeframe when Edward disappeared several weeks ago. To live for more than four-hundred years, only to meet an ignoble end such as this. It truly was ironic.

But what about Gluttony? Or the elevator that the Homunculus Fuhrer had used? Where did those pieces fit into the puzzle? She assumed that Fuhrer Bradley was dead, because Mustang had faced him and survived. Envy had disappeared with Al's armored body. The Homunculus with her son's body had run off without a trace. All the Homunculi had been accounted for except for Gluttony.

Izumi watched the cool blue waters of the river as it flowed by. Everything was returning to the way it should be. The mistakes they had made were correcting themselves, and the cycle of life would continue, unbroken. Her eyes drifted along the rippling water and came to rest where the water took on a reddish glow.

A reddish glow?

She rose to her feet and moved in the direction of the glow. "Sensei?" Al called. She heard him clamber after her.

Taking care not to let her sandals slip on the slimy rocks, Izumi picked her way to the river's edge and squatted down to peer into the water. The reflection of Al's young face in the water appeared next to hers. Scattered among the stones and pebbles of the riverbed were a handful of gleaming red stones that gave off a light of their own.

"Sensei…is this the Philosopher's Stone?"

Izumi plunged a hand into the water and retrieved one of the glowing red stones. With a cry of delight, Al followed suit, eagerly snatching the stones from the riverbed and splashing water everywhere. Soon he was dripping wet and had a fistful of stones cupped in both hands.

Izumi turned the blood-red stone around between her fingers, examining its uneven facets. It had the appearance of having been chewed by someone with very powerful teeth. She frowned, and tried to remember what she had been able to glean from Edward about the Philosopher's Stone. She placed the small stone on the ground, picked up a rock lying nearby, and smashed it.

"Sensei!" Al gasped in horror.

She lifted the rock to reveal the shattered pieces of the red stone underneath. "This isn't the Philosopher's Stone, Al," she said gravely. "It would not have been so easily destroyed, if it can be destroyed at all. These are Red Stones, which Homunculi feed on to keep themselves alive."

"Red…Stones?" Al repeated in stunned disbelief.

"I believe we have found the site of Gluttony's grave. Homunculi expel the Red Stones when they are weakened, and then, like humans, they become vulnerable to death. That is what must have happened here. Dante and Gluttony killed each other in this place."

The stones that Al clutched fell through his fingers like a shower of crimson jewels. He leaned forward on his hands and searched his Sensei's face for the inevitable truth. "Then where is the Philosopher's Stone?" he cried, half-fearful and half-desperate. "What happened to the Philosopher's Stone?"

"I don't know," Izumi said sadly. "If it's not here, then Dante must have used it up in the last minutes of her life, battling against Gluttony."

Al squeezed his eyes shut and dug his fingers into the ground. "No…no!" He scrambled to his feet and waded into the middle of the river. "It has to be here. It _has_ to be!"

For the next hour or so, Al overturned every rock in the underground river and clawed at every nook and cranny of the cavern that he possibly could. It was only when he collapsed, shivering from cold and exhaustion, that his desperate search came to an end. Izumi pulled him out of the river and carried him back to the collapsed elevator shaft, where she was met by Yuki. By then, they had been gone long enough for the State Alchemist to grow concerned and follow after them. Yuki drew a transmutation circle on the ground and widened the tunnel through the wreckage of the elevator shaft so it was large enough for Izumi to pass through with Al in her arms.

"I-It has to b-b-be h-here, somewh-where," Al said weakly through chattering teeth. The shuddering of his cold, wet body against hers made him seem all the more vulnerable. "The Ph-Philos-sopher's S-Stone…It h-has t-to be…I'll f-find it…I-I'll bring Nii-s-san back…"

Izumi gently shushed him. "Not now, Al. We have to get you into a warm bed or you're going to catch cold."

When Izumi, carrying Al, had gone through, Yuki paused and glanced over her shoulder before entering the tunnel herself. When she was satisfied that there was nothing there, she went through the tunnel and transmuted it shut behind her.

As the three humans left, a lone figure watched them from the depths of the underground cavern with unblinking eyes, two pinpoints of light in the shadowy darkness.


End file.
